Many oil wells employ electrical submersible pumps (ESP) to produce well fluid. A typical ESP has a three-phase electrical motor that drives a centrifugal pump. A pressure equalizer or seal section usually will be mounted between the motor and the pump. The seal section has a flexible element, such as a bag or bellows, with well fluid in contact with one side and motor lubricant from the motor on the other side for equalizing the motor lubricant pressure with the hydrostatic well fluid pressure. A drive shaft extends from the motor through the seal section and into the pump for driving the pump. An ESP may be located thousands of feet deep in a well and be quite long, such as 50-100 feet. The motor may generate hundreds of horsepower.
A shaft seal seals around the drive shaft, preventing well fluid from entering the seal section in contact with the lubricant. Well fluid that does encroach into the motor lubricant may eventually migrate into the motor, causing extensive damage. Normally, the shaft seal is a mechanical face seal having a rotating seal element that rotates with the shaft and is urged into contact with a stationary seal element. While long lasting, mechanical face seals usually leak well fluid over time.
Proposals have been made to avoid having a seal on the motor shaft that seals between well fluid and lubricant in the motor. U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,124 discloses a magnet coupling unit for an ESP. The magnetic coupling unit has a shell container that surrounds the motor shaft entirely, including the end of the motor shaft. The shell is filled with motor lubricant and in fluid communication with the motor lubricant in the motor. An inner rotor within the shell rotates with the motor shaft and has magnets on its outer diameter. An outer rotor is coupled to the pump shaft and surrounds the inner rotor. Magnets are located on the inner diameter of the outer rotor. The magnetic fields of the inner and outer rotors pass through the shell and attract to cause the outer rotor to rotate in unison with the inner rotor. ESPs with magnetic couplings are not commercially available at this time.